World War III Is Already Here: We Are Losing the Fight Against Climate Change, Says Bill McKibben
September 11, 2016 by ARPAN BHATTACHARYYA “World War III is well and truly underway. And we are losing.” So writes environmental activist, author, and journalist Bill McKibben in a recent article for The New Republic. This is a war between humans and earth’s rapidly changing climate. His assessment begins with an overview of recent climate-induced catastrophes replete with martial metaphors: The changing climate, McKibben observes, does not merely raise the risk of future problems; rather, it is already producing a dynamic set of devastating consequences: dramatic changes in global landscapes, mass extinctions, greater incidences of dangerous weather-events, and stark food-shortages. The frequency and scale of these threats and have indeed been increasing every year. For example, changes in global temperatures have culminated in the lowest amount of Arctic ice ever recorded in the month of June. As US environment correspondent Suzanne Goldenberg writes in The Guardian, “The Arctic sea ice extent was a staggering 260,000 sq km (100,000 sq miles) below the previous record for June, set in 2010.” In other words, the magnitudes of environmental tragedies have been steadily for many years. With new disasters continually outdoing recent record-breakers, the outlook for both human and many non-human communities on earth looks bleak. The dangers are high and, in keeping with McKibben’s war-metaphor, a tumultuous climate is currently winning. Indeed, McKibben says that an outright victory is no longer a plausible outcome: “We’ve waited so long to fight back in this war that total victory is impossible, and total defeat can’t be ruled out.” Given that we are already suffering from severe consequences of climate change in the form of droughts, food shortages, and so on, it is difficult to argue with McKibben’s dismissal of the possibility of a perfectly preventative solution. With the stakes raised and the outlook so dismal, McKibben finds – through the paradigm of war – analogous patterns of reaction from the 20th century: World War II, like the war on climate, involved profound threats, which were initially faced with indifference. With the current rise of environmental catastrophes, McKibben hopes that individuals and governments can make a similar shift from apathy to an all-out commitment to overcome the dangers of climate change. Indeed, McKibben adds, “If Nazis were the ones threatening destruction on such a global scale today, America and its allies would already be mobilizing for a full-scale war.” A feasible response is not impossible, according to McKibben, but it will entail something like the all-hands-on-deck commitment that the United States displayed toward World War II – with the climate taking on the role of the “single, all-consuming goal.” McKibben is not the first to use the language of militarism to describe the climate crisis. Political writer David Roberts wrote in an article for Common Dreams that an adequate approach to climate change seems “to demand something like wartime mobilization.” Even the Democratic Party, McKibben observes, has ratcheted up its rhetoric of concern: While the 2016 Democratic Party Platform does indeed characterize climate issues with increased urgency, the likelihood of effective measures remains discouraging given Bill McKibben’s own experiences working with the party this year. He recounts: Continuing with the comparison to World War II, McKibben writes: Nevertheless, McKibben does believe that there is still some hope if robust actions are taken quickly. Going further with his multi-faceted analogy with World War II, the next step is political leaders taking action. Even after his discouraging work with the Democratic Party, McKibben saw progress: Even in a period of a couple weeks, politicians demonstrate evidence of greater room for negotiation regarding how to act on the effects of climate change. A war against climate change may seem more abstract or economically precarious than one against fascist dictators, but McKibben argues that it is neither. First of all, the ethics of fighting climate change are much more clear-cut, without the unconscionable acts of violence toward humans typical of war. Furthermore, a full-fledged commitment to climate issues only stands to bolster rather than hurt the economy, according to McKibben. In discussing the economic, social, and humanitarian benefits of climate change, McKibben lays out a promising vision: Winning the war on climate change will not hurt the economy. Rather, McKibben stresses, it will improve it in addition to assuaging several other central social issues that may at first seem unrelated – such as socioeconomic, gendered, and racial issues. So World War III is here, and there is a lot on the line. Still, McKibben reminds us there is still hope, and victory is possible if we take collective action against the one issue that unites all humans: the devastation of our irreplaceable blue planet